


Terraform

by ActualCatto



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Age Difference, F/F, Pseudo-Incest, Rating May Change, farm au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:00:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29199504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualCatto/pseuds/ActualCatto
Summary: Faced with an offer too good to be true, and having nothing else to lose, Kuvira takes a chance. The decision will change her life, and the life of her host family, irrevocably.
Relationships: Suyin Beifong/Kuvira
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Terraform

Kuvira listened to the rocks scraping together beneath her sluggish feet. She had been walking for three days, and it would likely be another two and a half before she reached town. It would be her fourth in as many months, which was a quick turnover even for her. She just couldn't stand to stay in the same place for very long, and her tolerance for staying put was only getting worse.

It was hot. The sun beat down on Kuvira from above, and sweat stuck to her forehead beneath the wide brim of her hat. Her boots were wore thin, offering her soles very little protection from the harsh gravel of the road. The shoulder was no better; untamed weeds and grass sat waist high and hidden thorns bit at her legs. Attempting to tread through the brush had slowed her pace considerably, not to mention there were various breeds of venomous snakes native to the area whose path she could cross at any moment. Kuvira's whole body ached, but her legs were screaming at her to rest. She couldn't though; she was down to two packets of crackers, a granola bar, and single bottle of water, to last her two and half more days. It was doable, but she would have to keep pace, and it would be miserable.

Looking down at her feet as she trudged along, Kuvira didn't notice the driveway to her left, and nearly smacked into the sign that had been placed at its edge.

Farm Hand Needed!

Single-family farm land that has been left unused for 8 years. Previously built facilities and fencing are in various states of disrepair; we will hire and pay to repair or rebuild as needed.

We will provide:

Housing - live in the estate with the family rent free

Salary - 15 yuans an hour

Vehicle - truck for farm work as well as personal use 

What we expect from you:

Proper growing and animal care practices

Sell products from the farm at the farmers market weekly once the farm is developed enough

Honest and accurate reporting of time worked - no minimum or maximum number of hours worked, whatever is necessary to complete the work

Please call Suyin Beifong at 782-998-0666 or come knock on the door if you are interested.

Kuvira removed her hat and wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand as she finished reading the sign. That was a really tempting deal, but situations like this often end up with the worker trapped. 'We gave you this' ,'We provided you that','You live in our house so do this or be homeless'. She always told herself that she wouldn't take a job like this because of that, but she was already homeless, and they might even offer her a cold glass of water if she went up there...

Her feet were moving without her say so, the opportunity to at least get some water and out of the heat for a few minutes driving her forward despite her reservations. Kuvira slowly made her way up the long driveway, and up the steps to the front door. Once there, she hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea. Figuring that it couldn't hurt to at least talk to them, she took her hat off and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a stunning woman who appeared to be in her mid forties. Kuvira's breath caught as she took in the sight before her. The woman was just about half an inch shorter than herself, but towered over her with the authority she emanated. Elegantly styled silver hair framed a soft but stern face, punctuated with capturing light green and hints of makeup. She wore a deep green gown much more suited for an art gala than a farm in the middle of nowhere, which gently hugged her form. Donned with glittering silver jewelry around her neck and wrists, Kuvira thought this woman likely had more money in apparel on her body than she had ever seen in her life.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"Oh, yes. Um, I saw the sign you have at the edge of your driveway..."

"Oh!" The woman's face lights up with a smile. "Are you interested? Wonderful! Why don't you come on in and we can chat."

She led Kuvira into the estate, and to a room that could best be described as a parlor. She was hesitant to sit on such nice furniture, but did so at her hostess' insistence. She was left alone in the room for a few moments before the woman returned with a pitcher of water, a glass, and small tray of finger food. Kuvira felt a bit rude doing so without asking, but immediately took the glass of water and some cheese.

"Well, now that we're comfortable, I'm Suyin Beifong, but you can call me Su. Ive been an investor for over 20 years and my husband, Baatar, is an engineer. All of 9 of us here, including our 5 children and my sister and her wife, were sick of living in the city, so we decided to move out here when we found this property for sale. We didn't come with a plan to be perfectly honest, and not one of us wants to farm. But I just hate to see this much land go to waste, even if no one has farmed on it in almost a decade. So I had the idea of inviting someone to live here with us and run a farm. Oh! I'm being so rude, what is you name dear? Tell me about yourself."

"Kuvira, ma'am. Well, there isn't much to tell really. Grew up poor a little further west of here. I started working on a local farm when I was a teenager for some money, and I've been a migrant farmer for about 3 years now. At this point, I've had experience with pretty much every farm animal there is, and a pretty wide variety of produce as well."

"Excellent. Well, first of all; you don't need to call me ma'am, I know I'm old but you don't have to make me feel like it." Su says with a wink. "Second...none of us know anything about farming. So we really have no idea what can or should be done with the land. I didn't say it explicitly on the sign, but we need someone who can do more than just the manual labor; the planning, the decision making, and the selling. It sounds to me like you have would have enough experience and knowledge to do that, so the main question as far as that is concerned is whether or not you want to do it."

Kuvira regards her hostess for a moment as she processes this. "So essentially, you are hoping to find someone you can trust to make good use of the land, and give them free reign over it to achieve that however they think is best?"

"Exactly."

"That's...a lot of trust you are putting in a stranger ma'-Su."

Su shrugs. "I suppose, but the land has been sitting here for 8 years, and no one had even expressed interest in purchasing it in over 5. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Thousands of wasted dollars, wasted produce, destruction of the soil, disease being spread through food, and animal abuse."

"...oh."

"Not to be rude, but you really are clueless here aren't you?"

Su laughs. "I already told you I was! At least I'm being upfront, and I really appreciate that you are doing the same." She sighs as she adjusts her sitting position. "I'm selfish. At this point I just have to admit it; it's true. I like being wealthy, and while I care about others who weren't so fortunate as to come from money, clearly I don't care enough to sacrifice all these luxuries. In a way, this is just a pathetic effort to make up for that selfishness. If I support farming there will be that much more food available, that much cheaper, however little a difference I know it will make. And if I provide free housing and a salary to a farm hand, that's at least one person I will actually be helping. That probably sounds horribly condescending doesn't it?"

Kuvira shrugged. "It's the hard truth of the world. Regardless of whether you think it's right or wrong, fair or not, there are rich people and there are poor people. I don't have the answer to it and I highly doubt anyone else does either. In the meantime, all we can do is what is best for ourselves; and anyone else we can or care to. At the very least, you are choosing to make a difference in a strangers life. That's not nothing."

Su gives a pained smile. "Thank you, Kuvira. Well, I've told you what we want from you, should you decide you want to do this, so I'll give you some more information about what you can expect from us. You'll live in the estate, with you own key free to come and go as you please. Your room will be on the third floor, it's got a bit of furniture in there already but you are free to decorate as you please. There is storage in the basement if you want to move anything out. It's attached to a private bathroom for you as well. You would be welcome in any common areas like the living room, and there is an open invitation to have meals with us. Of course, you are also free to buy and make your own food as well. As I put on the sign, we purchased truck that you can use on the farm and as a personal vehicle if you wish. We'll pay you 15 yuans an hour, and I didn't advertise this, but you keep the money made from the farm too. Do you have any questions?"

Kuvira raised her eyebrows. "That's a pretty generous arrangement you're offering Su."

Suyin shrugged. "We won't miss the money and we have plenty of room; why not offer it."

It was an offer that seemed too good to be true, and Kuvira had numerous reservations about taking it. However, she had always been a good judge of character, and she doubted Su would take advantage of her. If Kuvira wanted to leave at any moment, she would let her without holding anything over her head. And really, what were her other choices? Find another large farm with hundreds of other migrant farmers and get worked into the ground for next to nothing?

She looked her hostess. "Well then, I think I'd like to work your farm for you, Su."

***

An hour later, Kuvira had been shown to her room, given the keys to the truck and the house, and told she was free to spend the rest of the day how she wished. Not knowing what else to do with herself, she opted to hop in her truck and drive around the property.

Su wasn't kidding about the various states of disrepair. On the left side of the property there was a green house and high tunnel. The high tunnel needed to be fixed up a bit, but was overall not too bad. The green house on the other hand was in horrible condition, and Kuvira wasn't sure she'd be able to fix it up on her own. There were several pens on the right side of the property, that looked to have previously been home to chickens, goats, and cows. Most of the fencing needed minor repairs, but there were a few spots that would take quite a bit of work. The barn was in excellent condition considering the abandonment, but the same couldn't be said for the chicken coup.

The land itself was excellent as far as Kuvira could tell, and she began planning in her mind how to arrange the fields as she made her way to the back of the property. Once there, she found a few rows of perfectly healthy apple trees. Unfortunately they wouldn't bear fruit for a few more months, but at least that gave Kuvira time to prepare to harvest them. Most of the farms income would likely come from produce, but if she were to get chickens and cows she could make a fair amount from the eggs and milk. 

Driving back up the property, Kuvira decided to head back to the barn and see what kind of tools were already there, and hopefully get to work on the high tunnel.

She parked, and took her time walking through the barn. There were four stalls on the left side of the walkway, and three on the right. In place of a fourth stall, there was a table and stairs leading to the loft. A few tools were scattered throughout the stalls and on the table, but Kuvira hoped there would be more in the loft. After testing the stairs and determining that she'd climbed worse, she headed up.

"Shit." She sighed. There were more, a lot more, but it was a disaster. Kuvira couldn't see most of the floor through the mess of tools, many of which looked uselessly rusted. With a shrug, she got started pulling tools from the loft, and bringing them down to the lower level to organize. Two hours in, she hadn't made a dent, and she threw down one of the rusted tools in frustration.

"We can buy you new tools you know." Kuvira jumped at the sudden appearance of Su, who smiled softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to check in and let you know dinner will be ready in about an hour, and reiterate that you are more than welcome to join us."

"Thank you ma'-Su. I think I'll get cleaned up and take you up on that."

"Great! Would you mind giving me a ride back to the house Kuvira, I thought it wasn't a far walk but it absolutely is."

Kuvira laughed. "No I wouldn't mind at all, Su." 

The short walk over to the truck didn't leave enough time for the two to start a new conversation. As Kuvira stepped in and started the engine, she found herself nervous to be this close to the other woman. Pushing the feeling aside, she tried to focus solely on driving, but Su found something else to talk about.

"So what do you think of the place?"

"It's nice. I like it. I should be able to grow produce fairly well, and once I get the chicken coup ready the eggs will add some consistency." 

"Good, I'm glad." Su smiles and waits until they are almost back at the estate to speak again.

"You know, I honestly expected it to be a man that took the position, but I'm really happy that it was you instead."

Kuvira raised her eyebrows as she parked and cut the engine. "Already? Why is that?"

She smirks, and answers as they both exit the truck and make their way to the door.

"I've often found myself more pleased with a woman's work than a man's; and I'm certain you've had the same experience dear."


End file.
